Just Some Water Tribe Ingenuity

Disclaimer: "Avatar: the Last Airbender" is not mine. That is that. And at this juncture, I might as well say that I do not own William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." This is not a direct imitation of that lovely play, but the plot pretty much pays homage to it. You know where my inspiration came from.

Note: Set after "The Boiling Rock." I know. It's been AGES since I updated and I honestly didn't think people would like it so much. So sorry for the delay and I promise that the rest of the story will not take so long to be completed. I assure you that the updates will be coming a lot sooner so I hope you don't lose interest.

I will say that I had devoted my limited free time to finishing my other story, "An Alliance of Traitors", so I was lax with this one. Thank you so much to all those who reviewed. Here is a longer update, hopefully to somehow make up for the delay.

Belated happy new year to you all! Don't worry, though, this is on top of my priority list now and I hope you all enjoy it. Again, please leave a review so I know what aspects I still have to improve on! Thank you so much!

--

Katara narrowed her blue eyes and twitched her fingers expertly as she practiced a new waterbending technique. The water cascading down the center of the Western Air Temple now fell under her control and with a few fluid movements; the master waterbender was manipulating the flow of the liquid. As she practiced her movements, Katara smiled with satisfaction.

For a moment everything seemed to be in perfect balance, the place was still, there was a sense of peace that came over her, as well as a sense of gratification. It was an invigorating experience.

But all at once, this idyll was shattered when a certain firebender's face flashed through Katara's mind. How dare he interrupt her thoughts so unexpectedly? Although it wasn't really Zuko's fault that his face bubbled up in her subconscious. She was angry at the confusion she felt but attributed her conflicted emotions to an intense dislike. She didn't know any better. After all, that face was a constant reminder of betrayal in Ba Sing Se.

The waterbender frowned at the memory and in an instant, the globe of water she had suspended above her head turned into a menacing whip.

"Katara?"

Instead of replying, she merely whirled around and aimed a water whip at the new arrival. Her opponent, however, was ready for her and easily deflected her attack, controlling the water on his own and mimicking the new technique. Katara put her hands on her hips and smiled proudly. Aang's speed at learning new techniques never ceased to amaze her.

Of course she was no longer jealous of his astounding talent. She had long accepted this ability of Aang's and she always tried to encourage him to hone his skills and to learn new techniques.

Having finished the impromptu lesson, student and teacher made respectful bows to one another before smiling and beginning friendly conversation with one another. The others were busy in various parts of the Western Air Temple and sometimes it seemed that there was rarely any time to take a break. Moments like these were refreshing and Katara enjoyed the occasional distraction.

"So what brings you to this part of the temple, Aang?" Katara asked her friend with a smile.

"Nothing much," Aang replied, "I took a break from training and decided to look for you."

"And how sure are you that I'm gonna give you a break?" she teased.

Aang merely laughed back. He then remembered why he had sought Katara out in the first place. The Avatar was well aware of Hakoda and the others' plans of bringing Katara and Zuko together and though he had not openly expressed his displeasure at it, he was uncomfortable with the idea and wished to thwart their efforts as much as he could.

It wasn't in Aang's nature to be this intrusive but he had somehow felt that there was something at stake here which he needed to protect. And maybe he had not learned to really let Katara go, even after all this time.

"Actually there was something I meant to tell you," the young airbender said after a short pause.

"What is it?" Katara asked, slightly worried by the shift in tone.

"Well," Aang began, scratching his head, not knowing quite how to begin, "you know how we have so many preparations to make, right?"

"How can I possibly forget?" Katara replied sarcastically, "so why are you so worried?"

"I'm not really worried," Aang replied hastily, "it's just that, since everyone's so restless and anxious right now, the others have started, well, talking."

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Katara said, slightly perplexed and wondering what Aang was getting at, "you know, people do have a tendency of doing that."

"Well, no," Aang added, "but, you know how some people can exaggerate when they gossip. So I just want to warn you not to believe all that you hear around here. People are just bored, that's all."

"Okay?" Katara answered, raising her eyebrow, "thanks for the warning, I guess. But you don't really have to worry about me, Aang. I'm not bothered by things like that."

"I sincerely hope so," Aang muttered to himself. But before he and Katara could continue their conversation, it was interrupted by the arrival of his firebending teacher.

"And what do you think you're doing, taking such a long break from your firebending?" Zuko scolded as he approached the Avatar. Upon seeing Katara, the firebender fell silent and kept his distance, his golden eyes fixing their unreadable gaze on her face. Katara glared back at him, not hiding her displeasure.

"Sorry, Sifu Hotman," Aang apologized as he ran towards his teacher to resume their training.

"Stop calling me that," Zuko muttered, careful to keep his tone down in Katara's presence.

Aang grinned back and waved at Katara as he ran back to the training area. Zuko turned to go as well but before doing so, he gave Katara a quick but significant glance. Once more, she simply returned his gaze with a spiteful glare. He turned away and followed his pupil.

Katara frowned. Zuko had been acting very strange lately and it was making her worry and wonder. For one thing, he no longer retaliated whenever she would show him any hostility. He would only remain silent as she launched her tirades and then would affix her with that same, grave, unreadable gaze. Being so perplexed about this only infuriated her more. What did he mean by staring at her so intently like that?

She could also sometimes sense that he was carefully watching her. And yet, not in a disturbing, creepy way. Just in a quiet, grave way, almost as if he was admiring her movements. Sensing his observation would sometimes make her skin crawl but she shrugged this off as disgust. But deep inside, she knew that there was more to it.

Nevertheless, she did not want to dwell any longer on Zuko's puzzling behavior. She decided to continue her training with no more unwanted and unexpected interruptions. But after several failed attempts at inventing new techniques, she knew her limit was reached and she decided to take a break. Wiping, or rather, bending sweat off her brow, Katara sat on a nearby stone bench. She was tired but satisfied with her performance and felt that she had achieved much for one day.

Suddenly, the reverent silence of the temple was broken by the sound of laughter coming from one side of the temple. Recognizing Toph and Suki's voices, Katara smiled and decided to join the other two girls in their merrymaking.

--

Meanwhile, Toph had a large grin on her face.

"She fell for it," Suki whispered mischievously.

"Of course she did," Toph replied, "Sugar Queen doesn't like being left out of things though she'll never admit that."

"I think we may begin our performance now," Suki whispered again, trying to contain her laughter.

"Perfect," Toph answered with a wider grin, placing her feet on the ground. Her burns had long since healed well enough for her to be able to sense people's positions on the ground again but she had not informed Katara of that. Instead, the earthbender decided to use Katara's ignorance to her advantage.

"You know, Suki," Toph said as loudly as she could, "it really sucks that I can't see too much with my feet nowadays. They haven't healed completely so I can't really tell when someone is walking nearby or not."

Of course, no one else could sense if Toph was lying and the earthbender's grin only widened when she felt Katara hesitate as she walked towards them. But the waterbender would soon be approaching them again so they needed to lay down the trap as quickly as they could.

They knew that they had their work cut out for them. It would be a lot more challenging to convince Katara than it had been for Zuko.

"And I happen to have a scoop on Sugar Queen," Toph said slyly.

"Really Toph?," Suki said in an intentionally loud voice, "Do you think she's anywhere near us right now?"

And of course, Toph knew that Katara was just within earshot. The earthbender also sensed that Katara had stiffened and was more alert than ever. And, Toph noted with glee, the waterbender was making no move to approach them. Everything was going well according to plan.

"Well, I know that she's been practicing her waterbending since early this morning," Toph commented, "and knowing her, she'll probably keep at it until much much later so I think we're safe."

"Good," Suki said in a mischievous tone, and Toph bent to mock-whisper in Suki's ear. Somewhere nearby, Katara was leaning forward, trying to hear.

"MONKEYFEATHERS!" the Kyoshi Warrior cried with an exaggerated gasp of incredulity, "Zuko's in love with Katara!!!?!?!?"

"Shhh," Toph warned, raising a finger to her lips, "not so loud!"

But both of them heard a not-so-quiet gasp of incredulity coming from a part of the temple. They looked at each other with complicity. The trap had been set.

"Wait," Toph said, acting alert, "did you hear that?"

Katara gulped with nervousness from where she stood behind a pillar and to hopefully throw them off, she tried (rather pathetically) to mimic the sounds of a bird chirping.

Both Suki and Toph were trying to suppress their laughter and for the most part, they were able to succeed more than Katara. They pretended to be clueless and dismissed the sound for that of birds. Katara sighed with relief.

"Anyway, Toph," Suki continued, "do tell me all about this amazing development! It seems so incredible!"

"Well, you better believe it!" Toph announced, "my senses of observation are not so impaired for me to miss the way his heart beats whenever she's around."

"You know, it might not be so far-fetched at all," Suki conceded, "I remember hearing from Sokka before that Zuko had confessed that Katara's opinion of him mattered so much to him."

"It really does," Toph said, "and as far as I'm concerned, old Sparky has never lied to us yet. His actions are certainly transparent enough. He doesn't say much but he can be pretty obvious."

"But are you sure that he is really in love with her?" Suki asked, "and that it is not merely him being eager to win her trust, just like he was with the rest of us."

"Positive," Toph declared, "I have absolutely no doubt. There's more than just respect and admiration in his actions, believe me."

"How long has this been going on?" the Kyoshi Warrior inquired.

"Quite a while," Toph answered, "I had noticed it even when he first came here to join us. There must have been something between them in Ba Sing Se which affected him so much."

"And have you told her about it?" Suki asked anxiously.

"No way, Suki," Toph replied with feeling, "I don't want to cause another war!"

"What are you talking about? Don't you think Katara should know about it? Maybe they could come to some sort of understanding and I do believe that Zuko would be as deserving of her love as much as anyone else."

"Don't get me wrong, Suki. I'm not saying that he isn't deserving. I mean, he really has proven to a very trustworthy and dependable ally in the recent days. But think about it, I've never seen Katara as bitter with anyone else in the world but him. And I've been through rough times with Katara, believe me, but we only had some misunderstandings at the start, but we got through them. But with Zuko, she has been nothing but hostile and distrustful although even Aang has already forgiven him."

"I guess you're right," Suki replied with a sigh, "Katara's been friendly with everyone else but him. Even I had some grudges against Zuko at the start. He did burn down my village. But I've already gone past that, especially after what he did for us in the Boiling Rock. If he reveals his feelings to her, there's no telling how she would react."

"It's too bad," Toph added, "since Sparky has so many good qualities. He's a pretty good bender, his ideas aren't too crazy, and he's determined to be of as much help to us as he can. He sticks to his principles and is way more disciplined than Twinkletoes or Sokka. He and Katara have more in common than they both realize."

"And he isn't too bad looking, if I may just add," Suki said with a grin, "I have to watch myself, sometimes, or Sokka might get jealous. And there's no telling what hare-brained idea that guy can come up with when he senses competition."

This last remark caused the two girls to share some hearty laughter at the Water Tribe warrior's expense. Somewhere in the Western Air temple, Sokka was having a seemingly random coughing fit.

"Anyway, judging from Katara's behavior towards him," Toph concluded, "she'd probably turn him down, and in the harshest way possible. And for Zuko to be even graver than he already is, that is a very dark prospect. That's probably also why he's been so hesitant to confess to her about it."

"I guess you're probably right," Suki admitted, "he would be devastated if she reacted with animosity again. It's a sad situation but I guess there's no way around it."

They both sighed. Toph wiggled her toes on the ground and knew that Katara was still listening intently. The earthbender grinned and Suki took the hint.

"I think the best way to deal with this," Suki proposed, "is to simply advise Zuko to try and suppress his feelings. It's not going to be easy, but it's better than taking such a big risk of putting his heart on the line."

"I agree," Toph replied, "I feel really bad for old Sparky. And I hope that sometime soon Katara's going to realize how great a person he really is."

"True, it seems such a waste," Suki concluded with a sigh, "they'd make a pretty good couple if Katara would finally let go of her anger. Or at least, even a beautiful friendship."

"Yeah," Toph agreed, "I miss the old Katara. She was more fun."

They both paused, their conversation concluded and Suki waited patiently for Toph to give her the signal. The earthbender sensed that Katara was standing very still, carefully pondering all she had heard. Both Toph and Suki hoped that their little chat had the desired effect on their victim.

Then, Toph sensed that Katara was walking away from them and the earthbender grinned at her companion. A few minutes later, Hakoda and Sokka emerged from one side of the temple and Suki gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up.

--

Katara walked quickly away from where she had been eavesdropping, her head spinning, so full of all the things that she had heard. It seemed so incredible! And yet, she knew that Toph and Suki were speaking in earnest, and in ignorance of her presence nearby. So it must have all been true. But what a shocking truth!

She finally stopped walking once she reached a deserted area of the temple. She made sure that she was definitely alone before closing her eyes and leaning on one the walls, giving in to her complete and utter confusion. She placed a hand on her head as she struggled to make sense of it all. It was too much, all too much.

All this time, she thought frantically, all this time Zuko had been in love with her. Her shock overpowered all the ill feelings she had towards him. She breathed deeply and tried to consider all the implications and consequences. She had not forgotten who he was. He was still the prince of the Fire Nation (albeit now officially a traitor to his country), the son of the Fire Lord, the one who had chased Aang so relentlessly before, and, and…

… their ally now. She could no longer deny that. After all that he had done so far, his journey with Aang to the source of firebending, and the role he played in helping Sokka free Suki, Chit Sang, and her own father, she knew that his joining them could not be such an act. And yet, there was this nagging doubt that would not let her go, that made her continue to be so suspicious of him. After all, she had been the first person to trust him.

It was the memory of Ba Sing Se, of his betrayal. She had trusted him then, and truly believed that he was capable of good. But he had proven otherwise and she thought that she could never forgive him for that, for proving her wrong.

But now, after really proving his change of heart, and showing his determination to help Aang, she found it hard to face him without remembering that time in Ba Sing Se. Deep inside, she knew that he had truly changed but she had been so reluctant to accept it, so afraid that he might betray them again.

But if he had any intention of doing so, he had had ample opportunities. And yet, he remained loyal to them all.

She had to admit now that Zuko was truly a different person from the arrogant prince she knew before. He was humbler now, and kind. He was certainly not the monster she had imagined him to be, not the image of the enemy that she had taught herself to hate for so long.

And to discover that he had been in love with her, and remained so despite her harsh treatment of him!

Katara did not yet know how she felt about this, and about him. But she now finally understood all the strange looks he had been giving her recently. And she remembered, with regret, all the furious glares she had thrown back at him. He was constantly trying to prove himself to her but she was constantly rejecting his offers of friendship. She had been unrelentingly stubborn, and yet he bore with her attitude with a decency and civility that now she felt she really did not deserve.

As she looked back on the way had treated the repentant firebender in the past few weeks, she felt some twinges of remorse. She had been singularly hostile to him, taking every chance to ridicule, humiliate or to simply injure him in any way without raising Aang's ire.

But even Aang had accepted him and now treated him as a good friend, and even like an older brother. Even Sokka was on very good terms with him, and her father had some respect for him as well. She had been rather unfair to him, she finally conceded.

And all her previous justifications of her hatred now seemed so flimsy and exaggerated. There had been reasons enough and she had held on to them for as long as she could but all these arguments constructed in anger were quickly losing their power. And even as she tried to remind herself of all of the reasons why she should never trust him, she was also realizing that his recent actions had been breaking through the icy wall of her skepticism and suspicion.

Usually, she never really kept grudges against anyone. But in his case, she could not help but feel irrationally bitter and angry. Now that she thought more about it, she wasn't exactly sure why she had sustained so much animosity towards him when the time for that had long passed. It was now, more than ever, as they stood on the verge of ending the war, that she had to be in harmony with everyone, and therefore, with Zuko.

Perhaps she had taken what had happened in Ba Sing Se too personally. She had felt so betrayed and hurt by what he did, and she had believed herself, and herself alone, to be wronged by him then.

And yet for him to continue loving her despite the way she had treated him. She didn't understand. She was flattered, even grateful, but still confused about how to deal with this.

Katara could not help but agree with Toph and Suki's assessment of Zuko, despite her reluctance to admit this on previous occasions. He was strong and smart, to be sure, and had proven himself to be staunchly loyal. He was determined and honest, and he cared about bringing peace to the world. And he had even cared about them to the point of helping Aang and Sokka.

And, with a slight blush coming to her face that she could not control, he wasn't bad looking at all.

She had believed there was good in him and he had proven himself. Why was that so hard to accept? Why did she feel that he had hurt her personally back in Ba Sing Se?

She would have to drop her suspicion and paranoia sometime. But why was it so difficult? Why were these conflicts constantly haunting her? And why was everything concerning Zuko so maddening?

"I miss the old Katara. She was more fun," Toph had said earlier.

Katara frowned and clutched at her head. Looking back again on her behavior towards him, she felt very sorry. And she felt even more ashamed that the others had noticed that unpleasant change in her. She was becoming someone she didn't really want to be.

And as much as she wanted to blame Zuko for this, she knew that her attitude was her own fault. And sadly, she realized that maybe she was the one who wasn't deserving of such constant love.

Katara's eyes widened and she found herself trembling. The tumult of her feelings had not lessened despite the long time she had spent pondering them. Instead, she had become more confused than ever. Oh, how she wished that these things were easier to understand. But then, matters of the heart never are that simple.

She tried to consider how she felt towards him now that she discovered he loved her, and now that she was gradually beginning to drop her anger towards him. She was frightened by what she discovered from herself and she was unsure of how to handle her own feelings now. Could it be that she returned his?

It was unspeakable maddening.

--

Later that evening, Katara did not join the others for dinner. She sent a message saying that she had a splitting headache and that she preferred to go to bed early. The others expressed their concern over this but there were some mischievous and knowing glances were passed between the conspirators of this event.